Thank you Bonnie, for highlighting the names of those committing these acts against us and not just claiming "the state" is doing this to us. Yes, it is Gregg Hart and Monique Limon who are doing this to us.
Before Hart and Limon, it was Hannah-Beth Jackson and Das Williams. Our own perpetual Democrat rogues gallery. We elect them, and they quickly turn against us. So we elect them again, until "term limits" installs the local Democrat machine's latest chosen models from the Democrat political widget factory.
Why do a majority of local voters lack the courage to vote against the Democrat machine that is destroying us piecemeal, bit by bit, block by block? Just say no to the Democrat machine. They are not our friends.
Yes, all part of the lefty, one party state here in SB. Other names from the past; N. Schwartz, M. Blum, H. Schneider, G. Marshall, C. Murillo, the list goes on. That’s why we are in shape we’re in! It’s all a rigged game here, we all know it. The local libs buddy up with the environmentalist, unions, Latinx and bike crowd and it’s all over for any real change. Throw in the kids from IV and you have an unbeatable dynasty.
Allowing unlimited housing development without consideration of how it affects parking, traffic and overall congestion, is folly. The fact that it is the result of mandates from Sacramento is more proof that we need a total replacement of the current regime there. What evidence do we have of any sanity on this matter locally? Santa Barbara’s charm and difference from other cities used to be limited growth, lack of billboards and ugly advertising, and a coherent architectural style. Abandonment of these distinctives is sadly turning our lovely city into something that will soon look like Oxnard, and LA. We moved here 45 years ago
to avoid the congestion and growing chaos of the San Gabriel Valley ( Pasadena).
Sadly, the blight is being imposed on the entire state by or Democrat leaders.
Billboards can inform you with the biggest scams around. Here in Georgia one of the primary billboard advertisers are the accident attorneys. My hunch is the accident attorneys, myself having studied these attorneys and their reviews, are most likely out to benefit the insurance companies by making deals ... definitely not benefiting the insured. Yes, if Santa Barbara doesn't like you, they will kick you out as one method of implementing their "limited growth" plan, increasing city property taxes on an elderly couple tenfold if you've lived in the city for decades. I paid $400K for a home in 1986 and was forced out of our home and sold for about $1.3M and was then flipped for $3.9M. This equates to a property tax increase of about ten times. Same thing happened with our rental property. I plan to come back with a humongous lawsuit on the City of SB and the FBI.
What a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get an E-bike for Christmas! There's nothing like e-biking on a rainy day, let me tell you, I've done the rain thing so many times on a motorcycle. Give everyone six months to obtain an E-bike. Then afterwards let's get our graffiti paint and spray the obnoxious vehicles still remaining on the road. I think it would be so much fun to spray the cars of all the city workers giving us the finger. Letting the air out of their cars would be hilarious ... thump thump thump down the road they go.
Just need a mask and an oxygen tank and wear a fireman's outfit and take a life raft. Sounds like the time I left town for a solo motorcycle trip and carried everything but the kitchen sink. I had so much stuff causing me to return home and cancel the trip.
Bonnie, thank you once again for all the information that you have compiled on the ongoing assault against our once beautiful and unique Santa Barbara. Having lived here my whole life and witnessing the insane reconstruction of it is more than depressing. It is good, though, to hear of people like Mike Jordan making his voice heard. Let's hope that some common sense can be reintroduced and implemented before it is too late.
There should be a permanent citizens watchdog force to immediately report all sneaky, evil and underhanded tactics and legislation by local governments. Thereby giving us the opportunity for quick action before it's too late. Of course, that's role of the media. But anymore, they seem to be an arm of the government responsible for propaganda and obfuscation.
I shared a link to subscribe to for any update on La Cumbre Housing in today's column. Subscribe, and share the updates/emails you receive with all your friends.
Why is MJ finally stepping up? Well he was not endorsed by the DNC, maybe he’s not getting paid to think anymore and is actually caring about SB finally?
5 years ago he said everyone needs to ride a bike to work, while he jumped in his F150 to drive the short distance to his own work where he spends all day.
The City decided years ago new housing projects do not need to provide parking, thanks MJ, as long as they paid the bribes to the City.
A developer could pay the City $10k per parking spot not built. Which to the developer was a deal considering building parking cost $40,000 per spot in underground garages they had to dig & build.
I argued back then, where will all the people park? Will the City open their empty parking lots and charge these new residents a monthly fee? Nope.
I pointed out the fact that people who buy & live downtown do not work downtown. And TBH public transportation is not great.
I also stated the number of people working downtown, commercial offices would decrease. This was before the pandemic.
So after 5 years MJ finally starts doing his job and serving you the people.
And Randy after about 12 years in office is finally starting to serve someone other than himself?
Don’t hate, point out what have these two actually done in the last decade as we we’ve watched State Street decline, long before COVID.
Brian, What could the voters on the Eastside have done to prevent electing this now very radical Democrat-machine city council majority?
Bashing only MJ and RR for where we find ourselves today is rendered officially moot. Carry on, but please stick to the culpable targets. Sneddon-Harmon-O.Gutierrez - and the final coffin nail for our city - newly elected Wendy Santamaria(?) - aka Ms SEIU.
Simply because M. Jordan he asked a few questions on Tuesday doesn’t mean he’s changed. There are 4 on the Dias actively running for Mayor to unseat Randy. Time for voters to know back stories on each.
Population in the City has decreased over the last 20 years per the Census data.
Population in S County has increased by a couple thousand, it a population boom.
So why are they building thousands of shoe boxes? Not for families.
How many illegals are here? How much money is paid to house illegals? In NYC it’s $75,000/ year per hotel room. In other cities throughout the US units for illegals receive higher than market rent. Think Black Rock and ask why corporates are buying up most the housing stock. There’s money, good money in it.
For 135 years, per the local paper back then, there has been a lack of housing & a lack of affordable housing. Pick any coastal town anywhere and show me they have a high vacancy rate and low pricing. You can’t.
This is political and money to the out of town developers Not exactly taking care of residential neighborhoods and the community. Not in the best interest of the citizens of our town.
Brian: How many UCSB graduates refuse to leave this area, after having been well-trained in radical protesting about "lack of affordable housing"? But housing only for themselves, in order to compensate with their own lack of viable job skills that would afford them stay in this area.
All housing is affordable in this area, for those who can and do rent or buy it. "Affordable housing" needs a new name, with a lot more honesty and tracking. There is no housing crisis. First term of art then needs to be dropped permanently from all future discussion and compromises inflicted on the long-established quality of life valued here.
There might be a "commuting" crisis; but there is no housing crisis.
S2: How do local residents, who fund these subsidized housing schemes, benefit? Is there a list of subsidized housing beneficiaries that we can now hire at discounted rates?
We provide them housing and in turn, they make their services available for us. What is the current mix of skills in subsidized that now available to local residents to support? How can we contact them.
S.2: Drive around any neighborhood and count the cars often parked in the front yards, and you will find your informal "boarding houses". Knock on the door and apply within.
If no legal boarding houses are a fact of life here, best to find a community where they do exist. It was an interesting concept at one time and often provided interesting plots in movies and early TV shows.
Now they are basically called illegal rentals and ADU's. Mobile home parks continue to provide the most affordable housing options.
Bonnie, it’s our law enforcement, BOS, City officials, County Social Services, Catholic Charities, Lutheran & Episcopal funders of border crossing caravans who know how many of the latest 1.8M illegally entering CA are in Santa Barbara County. Each of the above refuse to disclose what they know to area citizens and taxpayers.
Who needs to know who is here? I do. However, 99% locally apparently don’t care choosing to remain in their personal comfort zone.
Thank you for keeping up with all this. As for La Cumbre Plaza, I noticed that the city site for "The Neighborhood" project listed a traffic, circulation, and parking study completed in 2007. Does it strike anyone as odd that this study is 17 years old? Also, I still do not know if the voter-approved height limit was destroyed or applies only to certain buildings under certain conditions.
We have lost control due to the rules of the state (all people listed in this column). As for the traffic, in the study, I found they will be removing a lane in each direction on Upper State Street for Vision Zero and the goal of 91 miles of bike paths by 2030 (already at 98).
Why no push back on CA State mandates? Could it be that elected reps and bureaucrats are happy with status quo and lifetime guaranteed compensation packages? Why rock the boat, like successful Huntington Beach. Think funnel: in an emergency we’re trapped.
Thank you Bonnie, for highlighting the names of those committing these acts against us and not just claiming "the state" is doing this to us. Yes, it is Gregg Hart and Monique Limon who are doing this to us.
Before Hart and Limon, it was Hannah-Beth Jackson and Das Williams. Our own perpetual Democrat rogues gallery. We elect them, and they quickly turn against us. So we elect them again, until "term limits" installs the local Democrat machine's latest chosen models from the Democrat political widget factory.
Why do a majority of local voters lack the courage to vote against the Democrat machine that is destroying us piecemeal, bit by bit, block by block? Just say no to the Democrat machine. They are not our friends.
Yes, all part of the lefty, one party state here in SB. Other names from the past; N. Schwartz, M. Blum, H. Schneider, G. Marshall, C. Murillo, the list goes on. That’s why we are in shape we’re in! It’s all a rigged game here, we all know it. The local libs buddy up with the environmentalist, unions, Latinx and bike crowd and it’s all over for any real change. Throw in the kids from IV and you have an unbeatable dynasty.
Mayor Harriet Miller was the last hard-hitting, independent Democrat that keep things balanced and accountable.
Allowing unlimited housing development without consideration of how it affects parking, traffic and overall congestion, is folly. The fact that it is the result of mandates from Sacramento is more proof that we need a total replacement of the current regime there. What evidence do we have of any sanity on this matter locally? Santa Barbara’s charm and difference from other cities used to be limited growth, lack of billboards and ugly advertising, and a coherent architectural style. Abandonment of these distinctives is sadly turning our lovely city into something that will soon look like Oxnard, and LA. We moved here 45 years ago
to avoid the congestion and growing chaos of the San Gabriel Valley ( Pasadena).
Sadly, the blight is being imposed on the entire state by or Democrat leaders.
Billboards can inform you with the biggest scams around. Here in Georgia one of the primary billboard advertisers are the accident attorneys. My hunch is the accident attorneys, myself having studied these attorneys and their reviews, are most likely out to benefit the insurance companies by making deals ... definitely not benefiting the insured. Yes, if Santa Barbara doesn't like you, they will kick you out as one method of implementing their "limited growth" plan, increasing city property taxes on an elderly couple tenfold if you've lived in the city for decades. I paid $400K for a home in 1986 and was forced out of our home and sold for about $1.3M and was then flipped for $3.9M. This equates to a property tax increase of about ten times. Same thing happened with our rental property. I plan to come back with a humongous lawsuit on the City of SB and the FBI.
What a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get an E-bike for Christmas! There's nothing like e-biking on a rainy day, let me tell you, I've done the rain thing so many times on a motorcycle. Give everyone six months to obtain an E-bike. Then afterwards let's get our graffiti paint and spray the obnoxious vehicles still remaining on the road. I think it would be so much fun to spray the cars of all the city workers giving us the finger. Letting the air out of their cars would be hilarious ... thump thump thump down the road they go.
I can hardly wait to evacuate my home on an e-bike, during the next fire/atmospheric river/tsunami/earthquake.
Just need a mask and an oxygen tank and wear a fireman's outfit and take a life raft. Sounds like the time I left town for a solo motorcycle trip and carried everything but the kitchen sink. I had so much stuff causing me to return home and cancel the trip.
Bonnie, thank you once again for all the information that you have compiled on the ongoing assault against our once beautiful and unique Santa Barbara. Having lived here my whole life and witnessing the insane reconstruction of it is more than depressing. It is good, though, to hear of people like Mike Jordan making his voice heard. Let's hope that some common sense can be reintroduced and implemented before it is too late.
There should be a permanent citizens watchdog force to immediately report all sneaky, evil and underhanded tactics and legislation by local governments. Thereby giving us the opportunity for quick action before it's too late. Of course, that's role of the media. But anymore, they seem to be an arm of the government responsible for propaganda and obfuscation.
I shared a link to subscribe to for any update on La Cumbre Housing in today's column. Subscribe, and share the updates/emails you receive with all your friends.
Why is MJ finally stepping up? Well he was not endorsed by the DNC, maybe he’s not getting paid to think anymore and is actually caring about SB finally?
5 years ago he said everyone needs to ride a bike to work, while he jumped in his F150 to drive the short distance to his own work where he spends all day.
The City decided years ago new housing projects do not need to provide parking, thanks MJ, as long as they paid the bribes to the City.
A developer could pay the City $10k per parking spot not built. Which to the developer was a deal considering building parking cost $40,000 per spot in underground garages they had to dig & build.
I argued back then, where will all the people park? Will the City open their empty parking lots and charge these new residents a monthly fee? Nope.
I pointed out the fact that people who buy & live downtown do not work downtown. And TBH public transportation is not great.
I also stated the number of people working downtown, commercial offices would decrease. This was before the pandemic.
So after 5 years MJ finally starts doing his job and serving you the people.
And Randy after about 12 years in office is finally starting to serve someone other than himself?
Don’t hate, point out what have these two actually done in the last decade as we we’ve watched State Street decline, long before COVID.
Brian, What could the voters on the Eastside have done to prevent electing this now very radical Democrat-machine city council majority?
Bashing only MJ and RR for where we find ourselves today is rendered officially moot. Carry on, but please stick to the culpable targets. Sneddon-Harmon-O.Gutierrez - and the final coffin nail for our city - newly elected Wendy Santamaria(?) - aka Ms SEIU.
Simply because M. Jordan he asked a few questions on Tuesday doesn’t mean he’s changed. There are 4 on the Dias actively running for Mayor to unseat Randy. Time for voters to know back stories on each.
Big picture.
Population in the City has decreased over the last 20 years per the Census data.
Population in S County has increased by a couple thousand, it a population boom.
So why are they building thousands of shoe boxes? Not for families.
How many illegals are here? How much money is paid to house illegals? In NYC it’s $75,000/ year per hotel room. In other cities throughout the US units for illegals receive higher than market rent. Think Black Rock and ask why corporates are buying up most the housing stock. There’s money, good money in it.
For 135 years, per the local paper back then, there has been a lack of housing & a lack of affordable housing. Pick any coastal town anywhere and show me they have a high vacancy rate and low pricing. You can’t.
This is political and money to the out of town developers Not exactly taking care of residential neighborhoods and the community. Not in the best interest of the citizens of our town.
Brian: How many UCSB graduates refuse to leave this area, after having been well-trained in radical protesting about "lack of affordable housing"? But housing only for themselves, in order to compensate with their own lack of viable job skills that would afford them stay in this area.
All housing is affordable in this area, for those who can and do rent or buy it. "Affordable housing" needs a new name, with a lot more honesty and tracking. There is no housing crisis. First term of art then needs to be dropped permanently from all future discussion and compromises inflicted on the long-established quality of life valued here.
There might be a "commuting" crisis; but there is no housing crisis.
S2: How do local residents, who fund these subsidized housing schemes, benefit? Is there a list of subsidized housing beneficiaries that we can now hire at discounted rates?
We provide them housing and in turn, they make their services available for us. What is the current mix of skills in subsidized that now available to local residents to support? How can we contact them.
That is all SB is right now, 2 to 6 beds per room, housing all the college kids.....
S.2: Drive around any neighborhood and count the cars often parked in the front yards, and you will find your informal "boarding houses". Knock on the door and apply within.
If no legal boarding houses are a fact of life here, best to find a community where they do exist. It was an interesting concept at one time and often provided interesting plots in movies and early TV shows.
Now they are basically called illegal rentals and ADU's. Mobile home parks continue to provide the most affordable housing options.
Wasn't the boarding housing a room for rent????
Brian, on the news last night they reported California has taken in 1.8 million of the newest border crossers. How many are in SB?
You can't answer that.... They are never on the census....
Bonnie, it’s our law enforcement, BOS, City officials, County Social Services, Catholic Charities, Lutheran & Episcopal funders of border crossing caravans who know how many of the latest 1.8M illegally entering CA are in Santa Barbara County. Each of the above refuse to disclose what they know to area citizens and taxpayers.
Who needs to know who is here? I do. However, 99% locally apparently don’t care choosing to remain in their personal comfort zone.
Correct! Law enforcement isn't allowed to.... Per BOS demands.
Thank you for keeping up with all this. As for La Cumbre Plaza, I noticed that the city site for "The Neighborhood" project listed a traffic, circulation, and parking study completed in 2007. Does it strike anyone as odd that this study is 17 years old? Also, I still do not know if the voter-approved height limit was destroyed or applies only to certain buildings under certain conditions.
We have lost control due to the rules of the state (all people listed in this column). As for the traffic, in the study, I found they will be removing a lane in each direction on Upper State Street for Vision Zero and the goal of 91 miles of bike paths by 2030 (already at 98).
Eric Friedman is the district rep up there, a good place to start. efriedman@santabarbaraCA.gov.
Why no push back on CA State mandates? Could it be that elected reps and bureaucrats are happy with status quo and lifetime guaranteed compensation packages? Why rock the boat, like successful Huntington Beach. Think funnel: in an emergency we’re trapped.